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Frequently, folks ask me how often they should change or replace their guitar strings. As with most of my guitar-related questions, my answer is an obnoxious: “It depends…” (see: this, and this, and this)
Seriously though…
Ok. So you’ve found the perfect music lessons.
Now let’s talk about practicing.
I’m a guitar player.
I’m a guitar teacher.
I’m a guitar student.
And I have wasted a ton of time practicing…
It goes like this:
The bad news… this routine is all too common.
The good news… there is an easy fix. Here’s how…
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So you’re having trouble learning the guitar. You want to learn guitar, but you can’t quite get the hang of it.
That’s ok. Don’t feel bad. Stop being a baby. Step up and take control…and own that guitar.
But seriously, here’s what you should do if your fingers hurt and you’re struggling to play the guitar…
What chords should you learn first on the guitar? Good question.
Answer: G, D, Em, and C
Learn those four chords in that order and you can play a million different songs (see video above for proof**)
Switch up the order of the chords or take one or two out… now you can play a billion different songs.
To make the quickest and most effective progress, start with those four chords.
You can learn to play them here, here, or here.
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School is winding down. It’s getting nice outside.
You know what that means…SUMMER VACATION BABY!!! Oh yeah.
But not for grown ups.
That means the kids are home for the next 3 months. Naturally, you’ll sign them up for summer camps, swimming lessons, swim teams, camping activities, vacations, etc. There’s no shortage of stuff to do. The weather is nice and it’s great to spend as much time outside as possible.
But… what about those rainy days when the kids are all stuck inside?
But… what about when the humidity hits 100% and even the pool doesn’t provide respite?
But… what about when those summer storms strike and the power is knocked out for 24 hours with no TV, no phone, no video games, NO INTERNET!!???!?
Obviously…
“Don’t practice the guitar”
Period.
The words came out of my mouth during a lesson with a student a few weeks ago. I found myself repeating them to other students as well. At first, I’d get a quizzical look – like I’m luring the student into a trap.
Then, I’d explain myself…
It’s Friday. Which means I’m feeling lazy (and hopefully you are too). So instead of bombarding you with words… you get some sweet sweet music.
If you’ve never heard of Django Reinhardt, I (and just about any guitar player) highly recommend checking him out. You’ve probably heard his music (in movies like Something’s Gotta Give or Sweet and Lowdown) – or the similar Gypsy Jazz style. And even if you don’t dig the sound, you can at least appreciate the skill.
This is a guy who lost the use of all but two fingers in his left hand. TWO FINGERS. Yet still, he could produce some of the most amazing sounds out of his guitar. Check out the video for the full effect (Particularly around the 19 second mark – it is unreal. Watch his left hand and listen to the sound it produces).
So I’m sharing this for two reasons:
1. I love the music.
2. Whenever I feel stuck (or a student feels stuck) – it’s an incredible motivator to see Django play and persist. And not only that – but play at a high (if not the highest) level.
If you want more, you can check out the excellent film: Life After Django Reinhardt (Streaming on Netflix).
That’s it. Enjoy.
Guitar cases… I own two. Both of them are gig bags (which are essentially soft/padded guitar cases made for gigging – or hauling your guitar to various gigs). They offer little protection – really just like a backpack for your guitar. I should also mention, that at any given time, I probably have about 4-6 guitars hanging around.
So why am I so against guitar cases?
First – the good thing about cases:
1. They protect your instrument. Hard cases especially.
2. If you get a humidifier – they can prolong your instrument’s life (and actually make it sound better).
There you go – two reasons. Now those are two BIG reasons. But there is another big reason that I hate cases…
…they make it so you NEVER PLAY and NEVER PRACTICE!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok. Well, they make it so **I** never play or practice.
The thing is… when I lock my guitar in a case (or zip it up in a gig back) I tend to forget about it (which is seriously bad since I have a guitar lesson blog and am a guitar teacher). Having a guitar in a case gives me one more step in the practicing process (which, since I am extremely lazy, is kind of a big deal). I have to make it so practicing is as easy and convenient as possible.
Cases DO NOT EQUAL Convenience.
So really – it’s about weighing what is important to you. If you have a really really expensive/nice guitar – yeah, you probably want to stow that bad boy in humidity controlled area in a nice hard cases. If you have a cheap(er) guitar, maybe leaving it out on the guitar stand in the living room isn’t such a bad idea.
Those are my thoughts – feel free to correct me if I’m wrong – in the comments below.
(Note: the guitar case pictured above looks so sweet. Mostly because of the leather, and the pockets. I like having a lot of pockets for stuff. I don’t personally have this case, because I don’t personally have $900 to spend on a guitar case).
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Should I learn to play the acoustic guitar or electric guitar? Which is better for a child to learn? Which is easier to learn – acoustic or electric? Where can I buy a good child sized guitar?
We get these questions fairly frequently. They’re good questions… with annoying answers…
Ok. Obviously, you should choose an instrument that suits your son or daughter’s style. For example: If your child wants to play heavy metal, a nylon stringed-classical-instrument probably isn’t the way to go… or is it?
No. Probably not.
So – all musical tastes aside – let’s break this down…
